This invention relates to a device for opening and closing a zipper, and more particularly to a zipper opening and closing device adapted for being attached to a zipper of a compression hose and permitting manual pulling movement of the device to pull the zipper in a closing direction.
Zippers are used on virtually all types of garments as a means of easily enabling a garment to be donned, and then secured around the body. In many cases, the zipper may be used to close an opening in a garment that has a relatively loose fit, so that the zipper slide is easily moved up and down the opening, as needed. In other types of garments, the opening may be such as to require more force on the zipper, particularly in closing the opening. These garment types include garments such as boots, jackets, purses, backpacks and certain hosiery products.
The particular disclosure and preferred embodiment of the invention as set out in this application relates to compression hose of the type commonly worn to increase blood circulation, usually in a patient's leg. However, the invention is not limited to compression hose, but to any garment or product where assistance in closing a zipper is necessary or desirable. Compression hose function in the required therapeutic manner by tightly fitting around the patient's leg, thereby increasing the blood flow velocity and preventing or reducing blood pooling in the lower extremities. For this reason, compression hose are often fabricated as a shaped elastic panel with a marginal zipper that must be closed to cause the hose to compressively encircle the limb. Because of the need to apply compression to the limb, these zippers are often difficult to open and, particularly, to close, because of tight fit of the garment. In many instances the wearer must have assistance from another person, with one person using both hands to hold the opposing side edges of the elastic panel near each other while the other person pulls the zipper along the length of the side edge to encircle the hose around the leg.
In some instances, the zipping forces on the garment are such that significant stresses are placed on the zipper components because as the zipper closing angle increases, progressively greater lateral stresses are imposed on the zipper tracks, particularly as the zipper slider is being moved in a zipper-closing direction. In some cases, the stresses can be so large that the zipper cannot be closed past a certain position. In other instances the zipper may be damaged or the zipper slider separate from the one or both of the zipper tracks during closing of the zipper. A tool such as a pair of pliers or an elongate hook to engage the zipper slider can be used for facilitating movement of the zipper by allowing even greater force to be applied to the zipper. This increased force may increase the likelihood of damage to the zipper because these tools can apply substantially greater force to the zipper components but do not reduce the zipper closing angle.
Accordingly, a need exists for a device for assisting to move a slider of a zipper that is able to maintain the zipper track at an angle sufficiently small to allow relatively easy manual movement of the zipper slider while avoiding damage to the zipper.